Printed circuits are widely used in electronic devices to obviate wiring connections. A large number of electronic devices, nevertheless, continue to utilize internal and external wiring connections. In more sophisticated and complicated electronic devices containing wiring connections, it is particularly important that the connections are precise and secure. Since almost all wires used in electronic devices are manufactured with a protective insulative coating, it is necessary to initially remove the insulative coating from the wiring at the desired point of connection to properly effect a wiring connection.
Numerous wire strippers are known which remove a portion of an insulative coating from a wire for purposes of exposing the underlying portion of the wire conductor, thereby enabling effective connection of the wire with an internal or external electrical component. In general, wire strippers are designed to only cut through the insulator, minimizing damage to the underlying electrical conductor. To accomplish this, both mechanical and thermal wire strippers are known.
Most conventional wire strippers, whether mechanically or thermally operated, have a characteristic articulated twin-armed configuration with opposing blades that function as pincers. Typically, the devices are hand operated and are manipulated with one hand of the operator while the wire is held in the other hand.
Examples of known wire strippers include a thermal wire stripper that is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,291 to Potesta which employs electrically heated blades that melt through the insulative coating of a wire and enable its removal from the wire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,164 to Krampe discloses a mechanical wire stripper having sharpened blades that physically cut through the insulative coating of a wire for the same purpose.
Thermal wire strippers are favored for many precision applications because the thermal stripping process minimizes the force applied by the stripper blade to the wire conductor. With mechanical wire strippers, this force is relatively large causing undesirable nicking or scratching of the wire conductor by the blades. Although thermal wire strippers avoid this problem, their use is not entirely problem-free.
Conventional thermal wire strippers, such as those described above typically have an electrically and thermally insulative casing, by which the operator holds the stripper. The casing material is commonly a non-conductive high-strength plastic which functions to protect the operator from the heat and electric current running through the body of the stripper. The plastic casing material, however, is undesirably subject to the buildup of electrostatic charges therein.
An electrostatic charge buildup in the stripper casing is undesirable from both a safety and an operational standpoint. From a safety standpoint, the electrostatic charge in the casing can transmit an electric shock to the operator of the stripper when the operator grasps the casing. From an operational standpoint, the electrostatic charge in the casing can be conducted to the wire being stripped, should the wire accidentally come into contact with casing. The resulting current could in turn be conducted from the wire into sensitive electrical components in communication with the wire, thereby resulting in damage to the components.
Accordingly, a need exists for a twin-armed thermal wire stripper that minimizes the risk of conducting electric current to the wire being stripped. More particularly, a need exists for a twin-armed thermal wire stripper that avoids the buildup of electrostatic charges in the elements of the stripper which could come in contact with the wire stripper operator or the wire being stripped. A further need exists for a twin-armed thermal wire stripper satisfying these criteria which is easy to use, relatively simple to manufacture and comparatively cost effective.